What did extreme sports and a Busby Berkeley song-and-dance number have in common? Nothing—until BBDO New York and director Samuel Bayer of bicoastal Mars Media gracefully brought them together in a :60 for Mountain Dew called "Showstopper."
The spot opens on a classic Busby Berkeley-esque overhead shot with geometrically arranged performers on roller blades circling around an elevated showgirl. The action continues with a series of shots capturing skateboarders, mountain bikers and rollerbladers executing a meticulously choreographed piece that pays homage to the kaleidoscope dance routines of the ’30s. The spectacle is backed by contemporary music beats mixed with a sampling of old school, "high society" tracks to give the show an old-but-new flavor. Peppered with a few obligatory product shots, the number climaxes with a rotating, layered cake-like structure, topped with a can of Mountain Dew spouting like a water fountain. When the routine ends, the camera pans back to reveal that the show is being filmed at a Hollywood studio. The out-of-breath performers look expectantly off-screen at the directors. The shot shifts to the four "Mountain Dew guys" who are seated in director’s chairs. One by one, they give their assessment of the performance: "That was great." "Perfect." "You guys are hot." Then they all look at each other and say, "Take two."
According to BBDO New York senior creative director/ copywriter/art director Bill Bruce, nothing is ever good enough for the very extreme Mountain Dew guys. "Even after a big production like that, they are still nonplussed," explained Bruce, who has been working with BBDO New York senior executive creative director/copywriter Michael Patti and creative director Doris Cassar to expand the characters’ roles. "While the campaign is eight years old, these guys aren’t locked into where they began. … They still have an irreverent, confident attitude, but that is manifested differently in the year 2000 than it was back in ’93," said Bruce.
"Showstopper" is one of three Mountain Dew ads that were created for the Super Bowl; "Mock Opera" was also directed by Bayer, and "Cheetah" was helmed by Kinka Usher of House of Usher Films, Santa Monica. "Showstopper" was intended to air in the event that the game tied and went into overtime. Since that was not the case, it aired on MTV during the game instead. "No one was cheering harder during those last few minutes of the game than I was, because we hoped we’d be in a situation where all three spots aired and everyone would have a different favorite," Bruce said.
Bayer was shooting at press time and could not be reached for comment, but Mars Media executive producer Bill Sandwick spoke about Bayer’s decision to shoot the spot. "It was an opportunity for Sam to go back to the old Hollywood techniques, where it was about creating a look, and not a bunch of effects. That’s the way he really likes to work."
While watching "Showstopper," it’s hard to fathom this grand-scale production being pulled off without a considerable amount of post work. But in this case, it was all done with mirrors. Staying true to the genre, Bayer and his crew built elaborate sets with mirrors, lights and a winding rollerblade ramp (as opposed to a winding staircase). While shot in color, all the cast members were deliberately dressed in black and silver tones to allude to the days of black-and-white film. "We did a number of tests of how to take the film and transfer it, and finally decided on this warm sepia tone," explained Bruce.
Bayer cast 120 people, including 45 principals and world-renowned bikers, rollerbladers and skaters. While one might think that extreme sports practitioners aren’t capable of pulling off a number like this with panache, Bruce related that "they have a certain fluidity and grace, and doing it this way showed a lot of style."
The music was crucial to giving the show a contemporary twist. BBDO New York executive music producer Loren Parkins worked with Admusic, Santa Monica, to create the right mix of old and new sounds. According to Admusic executive producer Korbin Kraus, the composers mixed new music with old tracks of Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby sped up. "No one knows who the vocalists are, but you get a hint of what’s in there," said Bruce.
Santa Monica-based Method composited all the shots of the Mountain Dew cans into the scene. "The cans were really hard to see on film, so we redid them from scratch and created some set extensions. Other than that, we really didn’t do that much to it," said Method visual effects supervisor Alex Frisch.
The spot took four days to film, with several rehearsal and lighting days prior to the actual shoot. "The biggest challenge was to shoot something of that size with that many people, with that kind of precision and lighting cues. It takes time, preparation and patience to know what you really need to do," related Sandwick.
